of information they include is considerable. A moredeliberate focus on providing support for a structuredcourse of study that explores the body through dissec-tion may, in fact, have promoted the authors’ objec-tives more effectively and lessened the risk of fragment-ing and crowding the material. A return to theobjectives of the first edition, therefore, may encour-age students more effectively to make use of theexcellent anatomy that can be gleaned from the richresources on which the Atlas is based.

Cornelius RosseUniversity of Washington

Seattle, Washington

Color Atlas of Anatomy, 4th edition, by Johannes W.Rohen, Chihiro Yokochi, and Elke Lutjen-Drecoll, with thecollaboration of Lynn J. Romrell. 486 pp., Stuttgart:Schattauer/Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1998.$62.00.

Although I had been aware of the Rohen-YokochiColor Atlas of Anatomy since its first publication in 1983,I had not examined it thoroughly until I was invited toreview the fourth edition. Had I paid this muchattention to the Atlas when its earlier editions ap-peared, I would have incorporated it into my teachinga long time ago and would have urged it on mystudents as a primary and preferred resource to guidethem in their dissection and assist them in visualizinganatomy. The Atlas is an outstanding scholarly, educa-tional, and artistic achievement, deserving not only ofprofessional recognition and praise but widespread useby anatomy students and teachers alike. For theremainder of this review, I provide justification forthese extravagant remarks and try, hard as it is, to pointout some minor shortcomings to which the authorsmight pay attention when they prepare the nextedition.

The overall content and organization of the Atlas,and of its nine chapters, are designed to support thelearning of anatomy through cadaver dissection. Ow-ing to the comprehensiveness and quality of its im-ages, however, the Atlas also can serve as a valuablesubstitute for dissection when cadavers are not avail-

able, or when dissection is beyond the scope of aneducational program.

This is a photographic atlas of dissected cadaverspecimens. Its educational value is assured by severalnotable features, which include: the uniformly highquality and the comprehensiveness of the dissectedspecimens, the sequence in which these dissectionsare assembled in each chapter, the radiological imagesand schematic sketches that accompany the dissec-tions, the strategic layout of the individual and facingpages, the attention paid to accuracy and selectivenessof labeling, and—not least of all—the sheer pleasurethe book imparts through the beauty of its images andthe overall professionalism of the entire presentation.

The dissections were prepared in the Departmentof Anatomy, University of Erlangen-Nurnberg, Erlan-gen, Germany, and the Department of Anatomy,Kanagawa Dental College, Yokosuka, Japan. The pre-served specimens are of a surprisingly even quality,displaying varying shades of a light ochre to a deep-bronze palette, with bone and connective tissuesretaining an ivory to pearly white color. The contrast inthe specimens is excellent; even the finest branches ofthe nerves and arteries (meticulously dissected) arereadily discernible and stand up to the scrutiny of amagnifying lens (as may be verified on dissections ofthe cranial nerves, for example). Vessels are enhancedin many specimens by the injection of colored contrastmedium. Color is also applied to the surface of variousstructures, using admirable restraint and excellentjudgement (e.g., posterior roots of lumbar nerves, p.216; lymph vessels of posterior body wall, p. 312).Applying the color to the specimen rather than to thephotograph (as is usually done in atlases), enhancesthe three-dimensional quality of the specimens. Thesame purpose is achieved by placing black paper tagsbeneath fine branches of nerves, rendering themidentifiable even on large specimens (e.g., medialbranches of posterior rami in a dissection of the entireback, p. 213). The imaginative use of colored probesinserted into openings, passages, and spaces likewiseenhances appreciation of their three-dimensional rela-tionships as they are depicted on the two-dimensionalpage.

As in most atlases, the first part of each chapterdealing with a body part begins with the relevantbones. In this atlas, however, the systemic approach iscarried through to other organ systems. The secondpart of each chapter focuses on relationships and takesa regional approach; it proceeds, like a dissection, from

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superficial to deep structures. This organization paral-lels that of many textbooks and is ideal for supportingcourses of study that take either a systemic or aregional approach; in either case, it reinforces learningby helping the student gain a mental image of theanatomical entities, before enhancing that conceptual-ization with anatomical relationships. An outstandingexample is the chapter on the abdomen.

Knowledge gleaned from the dissections is en-hanced by explanatory schematic drawings, alwaysappropriately paired with the specimens (e.g., some ofthe cranial nerves, pp. 70, 77; upper portions of thedigestive system, p. 272). Progressive stages of adissection are illustrated in the second part of eachchapter. For instance, the steps for studying thestomach, its associated mesenteries, and peritonealspaces are outstandingly illustrated. As a rule, thechapters conclude with anatomical and radiologicalsections. Radiological images are used sparingly, appro-priately, and always to good educational purposethroughout each chapter.

The first chapter presents general anatomy andillustrates such topics as the general organization of thebody, the structure of bone, ossification, types ofjoints, and shape classification of muscles; it serves as auseful introduction as well as a resource for laterreference. This chapter is preceded by a brief introduc-tion, Diagnostic Imaging Methods, which the authorsseem to have judged too short to be called a chapter inits own right. Its value would be enhanced by beefingup its contents.

That the authors are experienced teachers ofanatomy is illustrated by the composition of anyparticular page and, when appropriate, that of thefacing page: when the contents dictate it, the twofacing pages complement one another and ‘‘tell astory.’’ Of the many examples, I cite pages 156 and157, depicting the larynx, which includes a laryngo-scopic view of the glottis. Further evidence of theauthors’ teaching experience is their decision to pre-sent the chapters dealing with the upper and lowerlimbs sequentially, rather than separated by chapterson the trunk, as is the practice in some other atlases.Comparisons between the upper and lower limbs arekey to their understanding.

Labeling is accomplished by fine leaders (changingfrom black to white, depending on the background);the numbers associated with the leaders are placedoutside the black background of the image. Thismethod allows the attention to focus on the specimenrather than on the numbers and is very effective. Forinstance, as many as 53 labels are assigned to one

specimen (p. 165), and yet the placement of thenumbers and leaders allows unhindered inspection ofevery detail in the complex dissection. When there isone image on the page, the numbering is sequentialfrom top to bottom; when there is more than oneimage, the first image dictates the sequence, andidentical structures in the other images are assignedthe same numbers. Numbering in these images can-not, of course, be sequential, and the term list cannotbe alphabetized. The authors have settled for theeducationally most effective choice: identifying corre-sponding structures with the same numbers. Althoughsuch features may seem trivial, they neverthelessreflect the thought and meticulous planning that hasbeen invested in the presentation.

Is there room for improvement? Attention shouldbe paid to the titles of the pages, which help to focuson content and place the image in the appropriateanatomical context. For instance, some dissections ofthe wrist and palm of the hand are on untitled pages,which now come under the heading ‘‘Sections ThroughUpper Extremity.’’ The same is true for the dorsum ofthe foot, which is not distinguished from the ‘‘AnteriorCrural Region.’’

The terminology has not been appropriately up-dated, as may be judged from the naming of the jointsof the ribs and the fibular nerve. Likewise, the terms‘‘ventral’’ and ‘‘dorsal’’ in place of ‘‘anterior’’ and‘‘posterior’’ have not been altered to conform with thelatest edition of Nomina Anatomica. Consistency in theuse of the terms ‘‘extremity’’ and ‘‘limb’’ would behelpful, opting for the adoption of ‘‘limb’’ in prefer-ence to ‘‘extremity.’’

Although the authors are conscious of limiting thenumber of pages, filling some gaps in the contentswould benefit the Atlas. Serous sacs, the pericardiumand pleura in particular, are not dealt with adequately.The concept of the sacs is largely overlooked and thespecimens do not illustrate them adequately. Nervesof the lower limb, particularly the lumbar and sacralplexuses, deserve more detailed coverage. Additionalimages of the liver, pancreas, deep veins of the lowerlimb, and relationships in the cubital and poplitealfossae would seem sensible additions. Asking for moreis usually a good gauge of the quality of what hasalready been provided. It is certainly true in thisinstance.

In conclusion, the Color Atlas of Anatomy by Rohen,Yokochi, and Lutjen-Drecoll combines many goodfeatures that characterize other good atlases as well; inaddition, however, it avoids the shortcomings that canbe identified in comparable publications. Its greatest

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strength is the focus it maintains on its educationalobjectives through the unparalleled quality of itsimages, the judicious limitation of its subject matter,the avoidance of distracting information, and theuncluttered and well-planned presentation, which isself-explanatory to a large extent. Students will wantto have their dissections look like the specimens in theAtlas. Indeed, one hopes that in years to come, theywill fuse the images remembered from the Atlas withthe memory of the cadavers they have dissected and

make them their own. One also hopes, therefore, thatProfessor Lutjen-Drecoll, who joins the senior authorsin this edition, will uphold, through its future editions,the high standards this Atlas has established.

Cornelius RosseUniversity of Washington

Seattle, Washington

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